In 1912 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Places purchased a field in Limassol for 41 Cyprus pounds and arranged for a church to be built on the site. The work was completed in three years and the church was dedicated on 31 October 1915. The records of chaplains of St Barnabas’ Anglican Church start in 1888, more than two decades before the church building was constructed.
The Parish of St Barnabas, Limassol, 1924
Over the years, the building has been extended several times: within ten years of the original construction, a porch was added to the north side, then a new altar and font were installed, and various improvements have been made, often through donations from members of the congregation. In the early 1990s there were very serious problems with the roof and the whole of the roof was replaced. Shortly after this, it was decided to extend the nave to accommodate the increasing numbers in the congregation; funds were raised through donations and grants, and the extension was dedicated by Bishop Clive Handford on 15 June 2003.
St Barnabas’ has continued to grow, and a new extension on the south side was built during 2013, a hundred years after the original foundation.
The church is an attractive building, of simple design, with a rounded apse. Over the years all the original clear-glass windows have been replaced by stained-glass, most of them donated in memory of family members. A new organ was installed in 2004.
The other buildings on the site are St Barnabas’ House (the chaplain’s residence, constructed in 1952), a hall for meetings and activities (built by a detachment of the Royal Engineers, originally as a Scout hut), a schoolroom for the Junior and Youth Churches, and a vestry.
The Chaplaincy has planted a daughter church, St Lazarus’ in Pissouri and Bishop Michael Lewis dedicated the Congregation of St Lazarus’ on 12 May 2013. St. Lazarus’ meetings are currently suspended.
Chaplains of St Barnabas’
1888-1895: Revd W H Milner
1909-1916: Revd E H Taylor
1927-1928: Revd A S Lindsay
1928-1933: Revd H B F Eales
1946-1954: Revd Wilfred T S Castle
1954-1974: Revd Hubert S Matthews
1976-1978: Revd W F Gunn
1978-1982: Revd Charles Buckmaster
1983-1986: Revd Desmond Shepherd
1988-1992: Revd John Godfrey
1992-1994: Revd Peter C Moore
1996-2003: Revd Canon G M C Jones
2003-2005: Revd Colin M Noyce
2006-2009: Revd Rod Price
2009-2017: Revd Canon Derek Smith
2018-2020: Revd Canon Father Andrew Mayes
2020- 2023: Revd Ian Nicholson
2024 – : Rev’d Deborah Lee Morgas
